Browsing: Lifestyle

We give as much as we get. We may not be able to fix the kitchen sink, but we may design and send the invites, plan the menu, cook the meal, and take care of most of the details. We have way more strengths than weaknesses to bring to a relationship, so don’t assume we can’t be an equal partner.

I have a darn good idea of what I am supposed to do in this life. While the wheelchair is not who I am, it sure has helped to form my personality, and it’s made my perspective something it would never have been otherwise.

We, as a community of people with disabilities, have a great deal power when we unify. If we all worked together to build the success of our community members, this success builds on itself, and the money and power that comes with it strengthens us all.
How can we begin to support this type of community empowerment, which has already been done successfully by groups such as the Gay Alliance, The Rainbow Coalition, the NAACP, and the Jewish Federation?

Before the romance, there was a basis in friendship. “We were really good friends for two or three years before we starting dating and spent a lot of time together.” She was in a relationship at the time, and friendship was all there was until a visit home from college when her relationship ended. “One night we went to a Bronco event, that was the night we had our first kiss. Then slowly it came together.”

Stand up for yourself. You deserve to be heard and to be taken seriously. You deserve to get what you paid for, and you certainly deserve to have your time and your health respected. You may be shy, and assertiveness may not come naturally, but if your gut is telling you that you are being pushed too far, don’t ignore it. Take the steps you need to defend and protect your own best self-interest.

Another confession: I was one of those women who sacrificed her inner power by trying to present a perfect version of her physical self. But, that was prior to my spinal cord injury (SCI).

The SCI has been a huge teacher in my life. What I’m most grateful for, having acquiring this injury, is the ability to fuel my passion of being an ultra-feminist. To revere parts of me that I kept hidden or dormant while I focused on conforming with my body to the societal standards of perfection. I woke up my inner she-wolf.”